Question 1: Almighty God’s word says, “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life.” I remembered what the Lord Jesus once said, “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jhn 4:14). We already know the Lord Jesus is the source of the living water of life, and the way of everlasting life. Could it be that Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are of the same source? Are Their work and words both of the Holy Spirit? Are Their work done by the same God?
Answer: In the work of God’s two incarnate fleshes, They testified that They are the truth, the way, the life, and the way of everlasting life. They express many truths, and do a stage of practical work to prove that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. That is sufficient to prove They come from the same source. Both utter the voice of the Holy Spirit. They do the work of the same God, and both testify that God is the source of life in all its forms. The word expressed by God is the everlasting wellspring of the living waters, and the river of life which flows from His throne, which is therefore the way of everlasting life. That proves even more that Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus, and that both of Them are God doing the work in His management plan. The Lord Jesus said: “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (Jhn 14:10). “I and my Father are one” (Jhn 10:30). This proves the Lord Jesus is the appearance of God. The Lord Jesus predicted He would come again, and that He would be incarnated as the Son of man to do the work of judgment in the last days.
Almighty God says, “Jesus and I come from one Spirit. Even though We are unrelated in Our fleshes, Our Spirits are one; even though the content of what We do and the work that We take on are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, but this is due to the change in era and the differing requirements of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the dispositions We reveal to man are also different. … Their Spirits are nonetheless one” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation).
“Though the work of the two incarnate fleshes is different, the essence of the fleshes, and the source of Their work, are identical; it is just that They exist to perform two different stages of the work, and arise in two different ages. No matter what, God’s incarnate fleshes share the same essence and the same origin—this is a truth no one can deny” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God).
Almighty God’s words clearly tell us that Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are both the fleshes worn by the Spirit of God. They only differ in that They do different work in different ages, and use different names, but They are one God. Now we know that both times God became incarnate He testifies that He is the source of the water of life, and has an endless supply of the living water. He also testifies that God Himself is the way of everlasting life. Although Their words and manner of speaking differ slightly, the essence of what They say is the same. So, what is the way of everlasting life? How are the way of everlasting life and entering the kingdom of heaven related? The Lord Jesus said only by obeying the heavenly Father’s will can people enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who truly obey God’s will refer to those capable of practicing God’s words and obeying God’s commandments. The Lord Jesus taught that we should love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love others as we love ourselves. Have we put those words into practice now? If we haven’t practiced those words, then we aren’t doing God’s will. If we can’t practice God’s words, and keep God’s commandments, how can we ever obtain the way of everlasting life? We never will! Gaining the way of everlasting life means gaining the whole truth expressed by God to purify and save man, and finally becoming those who know God and obey God’s will. If we believe in God but don’t gain the truth, don’t change our life disposition, and don’t obey God’s will, can we enter the kingdom of heaven? Can those who are unable to enter the kingdom of heaven gain everlasting life? So, those who don’t obey God’s will have no way to gain the way of everlasting life. Also, in the Bible it says: “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life” (Jhn 3:36). Believing in the Son means believing in the One sent by God, and believing in the incarnate Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of man. He returned to heaven after finishing the work of redemption. The Lord Jesus promised us He would come again, so, accepting the returned Christ in the last days is paramount. Whoever accepts the returned Christ in the last days will gain the way of eternal life. If we only believe in the Lord Jesus, and don’t accept the Lord Jesus’ second coming, we are cutting off our relationship with the source of the living water of life! Would the Lord Jesus still acknowledge us? Could we still gain everlasting life? While believing in the Lord, we must also accept the second coming of the Lord Jesus, which is the true “belief in the Son.” Only those who follow Christ of the last days will gain eternal life. If we only believe in the Lord Jesus, and reject the return of the Lord Jesus, then our belief is a waste of effort, abandoned half-way, and we will never gain the Lord Jesus’ approval.
Because what the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace is the work of redemption. He expressed truths about man’s redemption, which can only allow people to confess and repent of their sins and turn to God. But, because our sinful nature and corrupt disposition remain, even though our sins have been forgiven after we believe in the Lord Jesus, we still often sin and rebel against and resist God, this is a fact. It’s proof that what the Lord Jesus did was the work of redemption. Only the work of judgment done by the returned Lord Jesus in the last days can fully save mankind, allow mankind to break free from sin and the influence of Satan, achieve dispositional change, and be gained by God. So, the work of judgment done by the returned Lord Jesus in the last days is critical to the salvation of mankind. If we only accept the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, and want to enter the kingdom of heaven without accepting the returned Lord Jesus’ work of judgment in the last days, we have our head in the clouds. Actually, the Lord Jesus said long ago: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (Jhn 16:12-13). At the time, no one understood the Lord Jesus’ words, because mankind had just come before God, and was small in stature. If the Lord Jesus had expressed the words of last days’ judgment, man would be unable to bear it. They had to wait for the arrival of Almighty God in the last days to express the full truth that purifies, saves, and perfects man. When we see the words of Almighty God, we’ve awaken to sudden awareness, finally understanding the will of God. Why didn’t God directly do the work of judgment of the last days in the Age of Grace? It’s because there are three stages of work in God’s management plan to save mankind. God does the work of judgment in the last days, just as Almighty God says. “Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his satanically corrupted disposition. And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface). The Lord Jesus’ work of redemption paved the way for the work of judging and purifying man in the last days. The truth that saves, changes, and perfects man will be expressed in full by the returned Lord Jesus. This truth is the way of everlasting life bestowed to man by Almighty God in the last days. So, if we want to receive the way of everlasting life, the key is to accept the Lord Jesus’ return. The Lord Jesus said: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20). “… for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready” (Rev 19:7). “Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). Those who accept the second coming of Christ are clever virgins. After hearing God’s voice, they go with the Lamb to the feast. People like these are blessed, and they have followed the Lamb’s footsteps. They are the firstfruits purified by God’s judgment in the last days, and the overcomers made by God. So, only those who accept the second coming of Christ are those who gain the way of everlasting life.
—The movie script of From the Throne Flows the Water of Life